1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a protective facing for a dental arch and a method for making and using such facing by applying it to a dental arch.
2. Problem
The physiology of a human throat from the mouth and nose to the stomach and lungs includes, in descending order:
the pharynx, which is the cavity of the alimentary canal leading from the mouth and nasal passages to the larynx and esophagus; PA1 airway to the lungs; PA1 the esophagus, which is the passage for food from the pharynx to the stomach as distinguished from the airway. PA1 pharyngoscope, which is an instrument for examining the pharynx; PA1 laryngoscope, which is an instrument for examining the interior of the larynx; PA1 endotracheal tube, which is a device for administering anesthetic gases or for examination; PA1 bronchoscope, which is a slender tubular instrument with a small electric light for examining or treating the inside of the windpipe or the bronchi or for removing foreign bodies from them. All of these medical instruments are inserted through the oral cavity into a throat passage such as those defined above, so that such medical instruments will be referred to generically as throat inserts.
larynx, the cavity at the upper end of the trachea; PA2 trachea, the tube extending from the larynx to its division into the two bronchi and forming the windpipe; PA2 the bronchi or bronchial tubes branch to the left and right lungs to complete the wind pipe;
Various types of medical apparatus are inserted into the foregoing passages of the throat for diagnostic exploration or treatment, such as the removal of a foreign object from a passage or the administration of anesthetic. Such medical devices include the:
The passages through the throat are small, and a problem is to construct such a throat insert so that it will be small enough to be inserted into the throat without the use of excessive force.
The throat cavity is muscular and membranous, and its structure tends to reject an obstruction upward or to draw the obstruction downward into the stomach. Consequently, it is a further problem to anchor a throat insert so that its lower end can be maintained in a desired position for examination of a throat passage or for administration of an anesthetic. Anchoring appendages for an insert may be bulky and cumbersome and usually will be attached in some way to the patient's mouth.
Throat inserts and their appendages are usually made of hard material, such as metal or hard plastic, and, since it is necessary to apply considerable force to an insert for inserting it into a throat passage, and such an insert may buckle in the mouth during such insertion, it is not uncommon for a hard portion of throat insert apparatus to engage or strike one or more teeth sharply, particularly one or more teeth in the upper dental arch, which may crack or chip one or more teeth.
The purpose of the present invention is to prevent such injury to the patient's teeth.